Sway, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Swayed; p. pr. & vb. n. Swaying.]
Etymology: [OE. sweyen, Icel. sveigja, akin to E. swing; cf. D. zwaaijen to wield, swing. See Swing, and cf. Swag, v. i.]
1. To move or wield with the hand; to swing; to wield; as, to sway the scepter. As sparkles from the anvil rise, When heavy hammers on the wedge are swayed. Spenser.
2. To influence or direct by power and authority; by persuasion, or by moral force; to rule; to govern; to guide. The will of man is by his reason swayed. Shak. She could not sway her house. Shak. This was the race To sway the world, and land and sea subdue. Dryden.
3. To cause to incline or swing to one side, or backward and forward; to bias; to turn; to bend; warp; as, reeds swayed by wind; judgment swayed by passion. As bowls run true by being made On purpose false, and to be swayed. Hudibras. Let not temporal and little advantages sway you against a more durable interest. Tillotson.
4. (Naut.)
2 more senses
To hoist; as, to sway up the yards.
Syn. -- To bias; rule; govern; direct; influence; swing; move; wave; wield.
2 other Webster entries under this spelling
Sway, v. i.
1. To be drawn to one side by weight or influence; to lean; to incline. The balance sways on our part. Bacon.
2. To move or swing from side to side; or backward and forward.
3. To have weight or influence. The example of sundry churches . . . doth sway much. Hooker.
4. To bear sway; to rule; to govern. Hadst thou swayed as kings should do. Shak.
Sway, n.
1. The act of swaying; a swaying motion; the swing or sweep of a weapon. With huge two-handed sway brandished aloft. Milton.
2. Influence, weight, or authority that inclines to one side; as, the sway of desires. A. Tucker.
3. Preponderance; turn or cast of balance. Expert When to advance, or stand, or turn the sway Of battle. Milton.
4. Rule; dominion; control. Cowper. When vice prevails, and impious men bear sway, The post of honor is a private station. Addison.
5. A switch or rod used by thatchers to bind their work. [Prov. Eng.] Halliwell.
Syn. -- Rule; dominion; power; empire; control; influence; direction; preponderance; ascendency.
Shades of meaning
Fernald has no entry of its own for sway; he lists it under govern, influence, shake.
Where he writes about it:
To rule is more absolute and autocratic than to govern; to sway is to move by quiet but effectual influence; to mold is not only to influence feeling and action, but to shape character; to manage is to secure by skilful contrivance the doing of one's will by those whom one can not directly control; a wise mother, by gentle means, sways the feelings and molds the lives of her children; to be able to manage servants is an important element of good housekeeping. — from govern
Sway applies to the movement of a body suspended from above or not firmly sustained from below, and the motion of which is less pronounced than swinging, smoother than vibrating, and not necessarily constant as oscillating; as, the swaying of a reed in the wind. — from shake
Sway used transitively especially applies to motions of grace or dignity; brandish denotes a threatening or hostile motion; a monarch sways the scepter; the ruffian brandishes a club. — from shake